Hilary Clinton Promises to Power USA via Renewable Energy within 10 Years if Elected

The frontrunner for the Democratic Party presidential nomination for 2016 Hillary Clinton has announced the first steps in her sweeping plan to reform energy production in the US and address climate change. The thrust of her newest pledge is to power every household in the US via the use of clean, renewable energy by 2026, promising half a billion solar panels upon her induction into the White House.

The announcement was made on Clinton's website and vowed to be the first elements of a comprehensive plan to address climate change, amid growing pressure from the left to outdo the reforms initiated by incumbent president Barack Obama.

“The Cusp of a New Era”

The initial named targets could allegedly increase American solar power potential by up to 700% and could eventually meet one third of all of the country’s energy demands. Clinton also indicated that she would be in favour of making clean energy more attractive to both consumers and providers by introducing tax breaks and incentives geared towards making it more affordable.

“We’re on the cusp of a new era,” said Clinton on the website mentioned above. “We can create a more open, efficient and resilient grid that connects us, empowers us, improves our health and benefits us all.”

Discussion of solar panels and indeed renewable energy in general has been on the rise in recent years as the threat of climate change becomes more and more accepted. In fact, the topic was one of the key areas of focus at this year’s 66th PittCon laboratory science convention in March, and is sure to only garner more support over the coming months and years.

Still Sitting on the Keystone XL Fence

The Democratic frontrunner went into more detail about her planned proposals at her first presidential rally in Iowa last week. However, the candidate did not make her position clear on the Keystone XL pipeline, a point of major contention among her own party and the population at large.

The current president Barack Obama had previously claimed he would block the pipeline if proven to be directly contributing to climate change – though the confusion and controversy surrounding the construction of the pipe has rumbled on. If completed, the pipe would ship Canadian crude oil from tar sands into the US, and as such is seen as an obstacle to achieving a transition to clean energy by many opponents.

One such outspoken opponents is Clinton’s biggest rival for the presidential nomination, the self-styled socialist Senator Bernie Sanders. Senator Sanders, of Vermont, has claimed that “the idea of encouraging and accelerating the production of some of the dirtiest oil on the planet is totally insane.”

Whichever way Clinton eventually falls on the issue, she has laid down a challenging stance on climate change which may leave her Republican opponents looking underprepared and behind the times. The party stance on the issue varies from politician to politician, with some denying it exists altogether and others acknowledging the threat. None, however, have been quite as proactive as Clinton in her latest pledges.